5
by Majorelle
Summary: It was counted down in five steps. Five steps for Brendan Birch to fall in love with his new next-door neighbor and rival. —Hoennshipping One-shot {Happy Birthday StrawberriiSuzu! I love you so much!}


**A/N: **Now, before people who write Contestshipping come at me with pitchforks and torches, let me say a few things. Hoennshipping has always been a favorite shipping of mine. Heck, it was the first shipping I ever shipped before I even knew what a shipping was! Now, Contestshipping is _anime_verse, Hoennshipping is _game_verse. There is a difference. Brendan does not exist in the anime. When I was 5, I got my first Pokémon game for Gameboy. It was Pokémon Sapphire. And guess what I was? I was May, and who was my rival? It was Brendan. I instantly fell in love with them. You would have, too, if you were my age and played that video game, but then the anime came out and Drew and May appeared. Instant Contestshipper right there. But my love for Hoenn and Brendan did not die. I will _not _and I _refuse_ to hate on Hoennshipping because I'm a Contestshipper too, like all other Contestshippers do. I find it extremely wrong to do so. Now, one of my Contestshipping friends called me a 'traitor' for writing Hoenn. I'm sorry, but I have learned that sure there are people who are completely devoted to a certain shipping, but that doesn't mean we can't love that person wth someone else. It's all fun. It's all our imagination. If you want to flame me for writing something I love, go ahead, but first read this fanfiction. Read this fanfiction with the eyes of someone at peace. Calm yourself from the utter disgust you probably feel right now. You may surprise yourself in the end. Thank you for listening.

This was a birthday fanfic dedicated to one of my best friends, StrawberriiSuzu. Happy Birthday Su! Sorry it's a bit early, I probably won't be here on your birthday though to post it. :)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokémon, it belongs to Satoshi Tajiri and GameFreak

* * *

**1. The Meeting**

"Pokémon fully restored… Items all packed, and… Hey! You… Who are you? Oh, you're May, aren't you? Moved in next door, right? I didn't know that you're a girl."

"Well, excuse me if I don't look masculine enough for you. What are you? Gay?"

A young man pursed his lips while his cheeks burned red. This girl was most definitely spunky.

"You're excused," the boy sneered. "Dad—I mean Prof. Birch, said that our new next door neighbor is a Gym Leader's kid, so I assumed you'd be a guy. My name's Brendan. So, hi, neighbor! Huh? Hey, May, don't you have a Pokémon? Do you want me to go catch you one?"

He was trying awfully hard to not make an enemy. His father would've ripped his head off if he found out he pissed off the daughter of his father's old friend.

The girl in a green and white bandana broke into a laugh. "I'm just kidding!" she chuckled. After she settled down from laughing she beamed at the boy with such a warmth in her smile that he started to blush.

"Aw, darn, I forgot… I'm supposed to go help my dad catch some wild Pokémon. Some other time, okay?" he put his hand to the back of his neck and gave her an apologetic smile.

May nodded and Brendan rushed out the door, leaving her behind him. As he was running out, his eyes flashed back, the girl's image appearing in his mind again and again. And the more he thought of her, the more he wanted to think of her.

**2. His Start**

Little did Brendan know that May was going to end up coming after him and finding him on route 103. She also had a Pokémon of her own now.

Interested to see what battle skills she had, he immediately challenged her to a battle. Her Torchic was surprisingly strong against his Mudkip and she won. He looked down at the Pokéball he was rolling in his hand, then at May.

"I think I get it…" Brendan started as May put her Pokéballs away. May looked back at him as he continued. "I think I know why my dad has his eye out for you now. Look, your Pokémon already likes you, even though you just got it. May, I get the feeling you could befriend any Pokémon with ease. We should head back to the Lab."

And so, they started back to Prof. Birch's lab. May held her Torchic in her arms as they walked, and Brendan glanced at her from time to time trying to observe her. She _intrigued_ him. As they walked down the hills on route 101 to Littleroot, May noticed Brendan seemed uncomfortable in some way.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, looking at him innocently.

Brendan jumped a small bit since he caught her full attention, and maroon dusted his cheeks.

"I-I'm fine, goodness. You won't be as strong as your father if you don't toughen up!" Brendan rebuked halfheartedly, trying not to turn off the girl. He found himself attempting to impress her now. But why? Why was he trying to impress her?

"Okay then, I will toughen up. But I won't promise holding back when we battle again," May laughed. By Arceus, he could swear her laugh and smile would make his day everyday if he saw her.

And then it clicked. He started falling for her.

**3. His Surrender**

Brendan and May started a journey to travel Hoenn and become Champion. Naturally, they were rivals, since they were aiming for the same goal. Occasional battles were held whenever they met, and usually, May was always a step behind Brendan.

"May, you've trained without me noticing…" Brendan realized, looking back at the girl with affection and pride. She really was a spectacle to him. May smiled humming with dignity. His expressions softened. "Good enough! Here, take this. That's an Itemfinder. Use it to root around for items that aren't visible. If it senses something, it emits a sound. Anyway, I'm off to look for new Pokémon."

As he walked away, he smiled to himself. May was incredible to him. Like she said, she would toughen up, and she sure did. And through it all, he would surrender to her just to see her smile and laugh.

**4. His Wait**

His last battle with her…he realized that she was _not _one step behind anymore. She was a step ahead. A mile ahead. And when she walked that mile ahead without him noticing, she became more beautiful and aesthetic than she was when he met her. And all he had to do now was wait.

"I... I plan on going home to Littleroot. You know I'm helping my dad on his Pokédex. It's coming together pretty decently, so I should go show him. May, what are you going to do? Collect all the Gym Badges and take the Pokémon League challenge? Maybe I'll do that, too... Well, anyway, hang in there!"

While he sent out his Flygon to bring him home, he became aware that May was focused on him. Why was she staring at him the way she was? It was a sense of longing and worry he felt emanating from her. He painfully smiled at her. Although he climbed onto his Flygon, he could not leave. And climbed off his Flygon and stood straight in front of May. She glanced up at the boy and down at the floor.

Brendan stepped forward to her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her into a tight embrace. May was frozen, but a small smile appeared on her face. After Brendan let go, his face was more flushed than a tomato. It took him a lot of courage to do that to her. She had always made him feel weak. He shakily climbed back onto his Flygon and looked at May again. He nodded and flew up into the sky.

'_Please hang in there, please,' _he thought worryingly. He just had to wait. Wait for her to come back.

**5. Homecoming**

"She did it…" Brendan whispered in disbelief.

_"In the latest reports, Hoenn now has a new Champion! Here she is! This young lady right here is Hoenn's new Champion! Meet Champion May!" _

May did it. She became Champion. _'What is she going to now?' _Brendan thought.

In that same moment, the interviewer asked May the same thing.

_"Huh? What am I going to do now?" _May said into the camera. _"Well, I think I'm going to go home. I have someone I want to see again." _May smiled at the camera, and Brendan smiled back at her through the television. He just knew it. He was the 'someone' she wanted to see again.

As May arrived in Littleroot, the small population that was of the town came to greet her. Cheering and praising was what May was welcomed with. They all cleared a path for her to walk through, and walking down it, another was walking up it towards her.

She looked at the person coming towards her in the distance. She stopped. It was him. It was Brendan.

She smiled when he arrived in front of her. Brendan gave her a warm embrace, "welcome home," he whispered in her ear.

May looked at Brendan and put her arms around his neck while he placed his hands on her hips. The crowd that came to welcome May was now hush, and they watched the couple.

That morning, the sun was shining brighter than the day Brendan met May. That morning, May's smile was more charming than the first time he saw her smile. That morning, the ambiance was more perfect than anything. And that morning was the day in the future Brendan and May were married.


End file.
